Facebook adds new camera and Snapchat-like features

Rupali Pruthi

Mar 29, 2017 13:58 IST

Social media giant Facebook on 28 March 2017 added Snapchat-like features and Facebook Camera on its app. It introduced filters, masks, frames, animation and other interactive elements to visually decorate images and video as that of Snapchat.

Its new camera will give users more options to share and enhance photos and videos. It will also be rolling out the new feature on iOS and Android over the coming weeks.

Facebook has been adding its own video features including Facebook Live, its live video streaming service which was launched in 2016. Facebook, the world's largest social media platform, has more than 1.86 billion monthly active users as of December 2016.

Snapchat is a widely popular video platform with a young demographic and pioneers camera-first sharing. It's parent company Snap Inc. last month publicly filed for an IPO with a valuation around USD 20-25 billion. Snapchat had 301 monthly users at the end of 2016.Highlights of the new features• The new functionality will allow users to integrate dynamic objects like falling snow. • The Facebook camera will be accessed in-app by tapping a camera icon on the top left corner or by swiping right from the news feed.• Among other new features are movie masks which is a branded collaboration with Disney, Fox, Lionsgate, Sony, Universal/Illumination and Warner Brothers.• The movie masks will be promoting new feature films including Alien: Covenant, Despicable Me 3, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Power Rangers, Smurfs: The Lost Village and Wonder Woman.• It is also introducing Facebook Stories, which lets users combine multiple photos and videos as part of a collection which then can be posted atop the news feed. • Another Snapchat-like enhancement is called Direct which allows users to share film or video with friends for a limited time.

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